


the ink on our skin and the blood in our hearts (are intertwined)

by Stubbornness_and_Spite



Category: High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Bisexual E.J. Caswell, Bisexual Nini Salazar-Roberts, Bisexual Ricky Bowen (HSMTMTS), E.J. Caswell Needs A Hug (HSMTMTS), Emotional Constipation, F/M, M/M, Multi, Nini Salazar-Roberts is amazing, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Polyamory, Post-Canon, Pre-Canon, Ricky Bowen Needs A Hug (HSMTMTS), Romantic Soulmates, Slow Burn, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, i meant its not important to the plot but poly works too, its not important to the poly but its important to me that you know, this is a central plot point
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-24
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-15 08:02:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29680908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stubbornness_and_Spite/pseuds/Stubbornness_and_Spite
Summary: Ricky Bowen and Nini Salazar-Roberts have known they were going to be soulmates since they were in kindergarten. They had is all planned out. Ricky would turn sixteen to blank skin and two months later when Nini turned sixteen, their skin would share ink. Fate cares little for the plans of kindergarteners.E.J. Caswell doesn't believe in soulmates. Oh, he believes that there are people who share ink, but he doesn't believe that marks on anyone's skin are enough to dictate how people live their lives. He's never seen a mark on his own skin and he never plans to make a mark his soulmate can see. Fate cares as much for the stubbornness of teenagers as she does the plans of kindergarteners.
Relationships: Ashlyn Caswell & E.J. Caswell, Big Red & E.J. Caswell, Big Red/Ashlyn Caswell, E.J. Caswell & Nini Salazar-Roberts, E.J. Caswell/Nini Salazar-Roberts, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Ricky Bowen & E.J. Caswell, Ricky Bowen & Nini Salazar-Roberts, Ricky Bowen/E.J. Caswell, Ricky Bowen/E.J. Caswell/Nini Salazar-Roberts, Ricky Bowen/Nini Salazar-Roberts
Comments: 4
Kudos: 15





	1. wildcats in the house

**Author's Note:**

> Note: there’s a large chunk of this that happens the same as the show or basically the same as the show but slightly to the left that I didn’t write. Any scenes that I didn’t write basically happened the same as the show except for a couple of references to soulmates that don’t affect the plot. Let me know if any of my POV switches or time jumps are confusing. A few times, when I switch POV, I jump back in time a little bit to tell what the other person was doing/thinking. Chapter 1 is pre-canon.  
> Heads up: I get why Disney doesn’t have them curse, but they’re teenagers and this is high school, and I 100% headcanon that EJ refers to Ricky in his head as Ricky fucking Bowen. Rated for swearing.  
> Let me know if there are any tags I should add.  
> I think that this fandom has a tragic lack of poly ships, particularly EJ/Nini/Ricky because they're cute and Nini deserves all the boyfriends.  
> EDIT: I made a typo in the tags and then a joke about it because I forgot that poly refers to Polynesian people. It should be polyam, but I'm having trouble editing the tags and getting them in the right order.

Ricky POV

When Ricky turned sixteen, his arms were blank, and he called Nini immediately.

“Nini, Nini, Nini!” he shouted into the phone as soon as she answered. “I don’t have any marks!”

“Ricky?” Nini asked groggily, yawning and blinking sleep from her eyes. “What time is it?”

“Just after midnight on my sixteenth birthday!” Ricky exclaimed. “Why are you asleep?”

Nini yawned. “Because it’s also just after midnight during tech week, and I had rehearsal until 11 and again at 6 am tomorrow.”

“Sorry,” Ricky mumbled.

“It’s fine,” Nini replied. She yawned and sat up. “I’m awake now. Tell me what happened!”

“I have no marks!” Ricky exclaimed again. 

“Oh?” Nini asked. “ _ Oh, _ ” she repeated. “Your soulmate’s younger than you.”

“Or I don’t have one, or they just never bothered to write anything, but what are the odds of that?” Ricky asked through a wide grin. “Now we just have to wait until your birthday!”

“Two months,” Nini said softly. “Two months and we’ll know.”

“Yeah,” Ricky sighed fondly. “Two months.”

“What if-” Nini cut herself off and started again. “What if we don’t match? What if my birthday comes and I don’t have any marks either or I have someone else’s marks?”

“It won’t happen, Nini,” Ricky reassured her. “And if it does, we’ll figure it out.”

~

Two months went by quickly. Ricky went to see Nini perform in some show he couldn’t remember the name of. He didn’t know enough about theater to compliment her properly, so he told her that she lit up the stage. He also gave her a few compliments that he’d picked from a list online. It was the thought that counted. 

They spent most of their free time in Nini’s bedroom or Big Red’s basement, swapping stories that they both already knew. 

Ricky begged his dad to let him stay the night at Nini’s on her sixteenth birthday, and they stayed up until midnight to see if anything appeared on her skin. Around 11:30, Nini changed into her shortest pair of shorts and a tube top to show as much of her skin as possible. At 11:45, Ricky considered writing on his hand for the first time but decided not to, wanting to wait until he could see the line appear on Nini’s hand too. At 12:01, a splotch of ink appeared on Nini’s right shoulder. At 12:02, Ricky stopped breathing.

“I didn’t do that,” he whispered. “I didn’t spill ink on my shoulder.” His hand drifted to cover the spot on his shirt that mirrored the mark on Nini’s shoulder.

Nini tugged a sweater on and slid her legs under the blanket. “This doesn’t have to change anything. I love you, Ricky.”

“I-” Ricky’s eyes were wide. “I don’t-” His breathing quickened. “Maybe we should take a pause. You’re going away for the summer and I just-” His breath caught. “I need some time, Nini.”

“Okay,” Nini murmured. “Okay.”

“I’m just going to-” Ricky pointed at Nini’s bedroom door and stumbled towards it, clumsily pulling it open. “I’ll see you?” Nini didn’t respond and Ricky pulled the door shut. 

~

Carol had driven him home without asking any questions, which Ricky was grateful for because he didn’t think he could answer without crying. Soulmates were supposed to be the thing that kept people together. He thought he loved Nini, but Ricky knew that wasn’t enough. His parents were proof of that. They’d both gone against the system when they were younger and had thought they were in love with people who weren’t their soulmates, but they had ended up together anyway. Nothing was stronger than soulmates and Nini wasn’t his.

Ricky slipped in his front door without waking his dad and fell asleep in his clothes, on top of his blankets, never noticing the spot of ink on his shoulder that was washed away by morning.

~

The summer went by in a blur. Ricky swore up and down it was the longest summer he’d ever lived, but at the same time, it was over in the blink of an eye and he was seeing Nini again.

He wanted to try again with her. Maybe soulmates weren’t everything because he was miserable without Nini. Maybe even if they did end up with their soulmates eventually, they could share the rest of high school with each other.

“I met someone.”

Ricky’s heart stopped. “You’re kidding, right? It was a break, not a breakup.”

“Well, it’s a breakup now.”

And what the hell was he supposed to do with that?

~

EJ POV

EJ was glad when his sixteenth birthday rolled around and his skin was blank. Maybe he was one of the lucky few without a soulmate. He hated the idea of soulmates. He wanted to control his own life, to decide for himself who he was going to spend it with, not have his life dictated by whose skin shared ink with his. 

He went out of his way to make sure he never wrote on himself or let anyone else draw or write on his skin. He carried bandaids and wipes with him everywhere so if he ever got a cut, he could keep the blood from staining his soulmate’s skin. Ashlynn insisted that he was being ridiculous, but EJ was adamant. He was not going to have a soulmate. He was going to love whoever he wanted. 

And he did. He dated a lot of different girls and didn’t care at all when they left him for their soulmates, whether they had met them yet or not. He didn’t care at all. He just moved onto the next girl. 

He made it until the summer before his eighteenth birthday without incident. The few times he got ink on himself, a few times on his hands, and once on his left shoulder when a pen burst, he washed it off completely before the next day and he never saw a message back. 

The summer before he turned eighteen he met Nini. She was the first girl he’d met who had turned sixteen, seen her soulmate marks, and wasn’t searching for her soulmate. He fell a little bit in love with her right then and there. Then he heard her sing and saw her act and he fell for her even more. By the time they actually started talking, EJ was head over heels for the girl and ready to run away from the soulmate system and off into the sunset with her. 

“Where are you headed once camp’s over?” EJ asked, as close to Nini as he could be without actually having his arm around her.

“Back to Salt Lake City,” she replied. “We go to the same school, EJ.”

“I’m stupid!” EJ hit his forehead with his palm and grinned. “How have we not talked before now? You’re amazing.”

Nini snorted and rolled her eyes with a smile. “You’re sweet. I’ve been kind of under a rock for the past few years. I’ve been in the ensemble of the last few musicals but I really only talk to Kourtney, Big Red, and…” she trailed off.

“Who else?” EJ prompted.

“Ricky,” Nini said, her voice turning slightly sharp. Her bright smile dimmed. “We’ve been friends since kindergarten and kinda-dating since middle school. We started actually dating at the start of sophomore year. We kind of broke up when summer started.”

“How do you kind of break up with someone?” EJ asked. “How does anyone break up with you?”

Nini laughed. “He’s a few months older than me and we always thought we’d be soulmates, so he was really excited when his skin was blank on his sixteenth birthday, but when my sixteenth birthday rolled around and I had ink on me that he hadn’t drawn, he freaked out. He was supposed to be my soulmate, whatever the ink on our skin said, but when he saw someone else’s ink, he said we should “take a break.” Whatever that means.”

“It means he’s not good enough for you,” EJ said, smiling earnestly.

“And you are?” Nini asked.

EJ sputtered. “I wasn’t saying that, but…” he hesitated. “I’d like to try to be? If that’s something you want too?”

“EJ Caswell, are you asking me out?”

EJ coughed and rubbed the back of his neck. “Was that not clear?”

Nini pushed her hair out of her face and grinned. “No, it was clear, but I want you to ask me properly anyway.”

EJ pulled away from her and lifted himself up onto one knee. “Nini… I-don’t-know-your-last-name,”

“Salazar-Roberts,” Nini said, her smile practically splitting her face.

“Nini Salazar-Roberts,” EJ continued. “Will you do me the honor of being my girlfriend?”

Nini pretended to think it over. “On one condition.”

“Which is?”

Nini leaned forward and kissed him quickly. “If you be my boyfriend.”

~


	2. i feel in my heart (the start of something new)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> something ends and something begins  
> they go back to east high and things change

EJ POV

EJ and Nini’s summer flew by as they ended up performing as the leads in the camp musical. Nini’s album of pictures of Ricky was quickly overwhelmed by pictures of EJ and EJ thought that if being with Nini was how people felt with their soulmates then there might be something to it after all because he would do anything to stay by her side. 

But as with all good things, summer comes to an end, and EJ and Nini made their way back to East High. They auditioned for the musical together and EJ knew they were going to be a perfect Troy and Gabriella. As annoying as Nini’s ex popping up at auditions was, it didn’t matter, because Nini had picked him and they were going to be the best onstage couple East High had seen since Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens.

~

Chad. He got Chad. He wouldn’t have even been that mad if it wasn’t “Never Done Theater Before” Ricky fucking Bowen who got cast as Troy. He wasn’t just the lead, he was also opposite Nini’s Gabriella. Did Ricky and Nini really have more chemistry than he and Nini did? Was their showmance going to ruin his? 

No. EJ smirked at his reflection in the bathroom mirror, straightened his jacket, and strode out with the confidence he deserved. He was Troy’s understudy and he could damn well get the role and even if he didn’t, the largest supporting male role wasn’t bad either. Of course, he was going to make sure everyone knew that he should have been the lead, but it was fine. He had a big part, and an amazing girlfriend. and nothing was going to get in the way of that, not even having to play the best friend to her ex.

~ 

Everything was fine. Everything was absolutely fine. He’d stolen Nini’s phone and gone through it and deleted a voicemail in a jealous panic. It was fine. He couldn’t say anything without making Ricky fucking Bowen look like the good guy. It was fine. Ricky fucking Bowen had thrown a basketball at his face. It was fine. He already had his shirt off so that the blood didn’t get on his shoulder and he was poking at his face, trying to figure out the fastest way to get it to stop bleeding.

“How's the lip?” EJ looked away from the mirror to see Ricky fucking Bowen looking at him and looking surprisingly guilty. EJ probably wouldn’t have looked that guilty if their positions were reversed. Yet another reason that “Never Done Theater Before But Somehow Got The Lead” Ricky fucking Bowen was better than him.

“All good,” EJ snapped.

Ricky sighed. “Listen, I don't know what happened out there. It was an accident.”

“Really?” EJ whipped around to face Ricky. “Because "infinity plus one" sounded pretty real.”

“That's not even a number,” Ricky mumbled. 

“Do me a favor and stay away from me and Nini, okay?” EJ’s lip curled into an ugly sneer, but he didn’t care enough to smooth his expression back out. The only person who could see him was Ricky fucking Bowen and EJ didn’t give a shit what he thought.

“Excuse me?”

EJ scoffed. “Don't act like my best friend or her boyfriend. Just stop acting, period. Why can't you be real?” 

Ricky looked like he was trying to diffuse EJ’s anger, but EJ had been stewing for weeks, and getting smacked in the face was the last straw. “I'm trying to make the best out of a bad situation-”

EJ cut him off. “Stop trying, Ricky." He let out a derisive laugh. "Don't try so hard! It's embarrassing.”

Ricky took a step back, finally looking a little defensive. “Dude. I'm just trying to say I'm sorry.”

“You want to apologize?” EJ growled. He felt a speck of spit fly past his lips and he snarled, moving forward like a cornered animal. “You can start with that thirsty voicemail you left for Nini. You broke her heart. She doesn't need to hear from you anymore.”

“What did you just say?”

EJ opened his mouth to fire something else back at Ricky, but his eyes caught on a dark mark on Ricky’s face, specifically his right upper lip. EJ’s hand drifted to his own right upper lip and traced the spot where the blood had marked his face the way he’d been so careful to keep from happening for two years. His face went slack. His shoulders dropped. Every bit of breath in him fell out.

“Just go home, Ricky.”

Fuck.

~

EJ went to Ashlynn’s house instead of his after rehearsal, actually knocking on the door and waiting to be let in for once.

“EJ!” Ashlynn greeted him cheerfully. “Why are you knock-” she stopped, taking him in. “You’re shaking. EJ, what’s wrong?”

“I found my soulmate,” EJ whispered, staring at the ground. “Ash, I found my soulmate.”

“Oh my god,” Ashlynn’s eyes went wide and she gaped at EJ. After a second, she cleared her throat. “Come inside, come on.” She dragged him to her room and sat him down on her bed. EJ stared at her helplessly. “Do you want to tell me who it is?” she asked. “I can just give you some company if you don’t. Also, less important, what happened to your lip?”

EJ scoffed. “Fortunately the answer to both questions is the same: Ricky fucking Bowen.”

“Oh, EJ,” Ashlynn sighed, sitting down next to him. “What are you going to do?”

EJ shook his head. “Nothing. He doesn’t know. He didn’t see the mark on his lip and I got the blood off mine before he could. I said I wasn’t going to let soulmates get in the way of who I wanted to date and I meant it.”

“He’s going to find out, EJ.”

“How?” EJ snapped. “How is he going to find out, Ashlynn? He’s almost seventeen and he thinks he doesn’t have a soulmate. The stage makeup is designed to not transmit through soulmate bonds. After the musical, we never have to talk to each other again. How is he going to know that I’m his soulmate?”

“The universe finds a way,” Ashlynn said. “It always finds a way.” 

“Not for me,” EJ said firmly. “I don’t care if I’m playing against the universe, I play to win and I’m not losing twice over to Ricky fucking Bowen.”

Ashlynn shook her head and sighed. “I’m not doing this. Come talk to me if you want to have an actual emotional discussion.” She stood up and walked to the door, pausing as if giving EJ a chance to change his mind.

“Can I sleep on the couch?” he asked. “I really don’t feel like going home.”

Ashlynn just shook her head again. “Do whatever, EJ.”

~

Ricky POV

For all that went wrong with High School Musical, Ricky still loved it so much. He finally understood why Nini loved musicals so much. He didn’t think he was going to start watching or listening to them by himself, but he wasn’t going to complain if the rest of the theater kids did while they were all hanging out. He was a theater kid now and he liked it. 

He wandered around the makeshift backstage area looking for Nini. Eventually, he found her in one of the rooms they’d turned into a small dressing room.

“Hey! There you are!”

“Hey!”

Ricky zoned out a little while they talked, just saying anything to keep the conversation going. Nini was amazing, seriously amazing. He’d gotten in his own head about soulmates, but as he had learned with his parents, soulmates weren’t the be-all and end-all of relationships. Being happy was more important. The conversation was stilted and awkward but it was still one of the longest conversations they’d had since before the summer started. Nini started to leave and Ricky realized that he could either take a chance now or let Nini go for real.

“I love you!” he blurted out. “I’ve loved you since the first time we learned about soulmates in second grade and I looked over at you because I knew that no matter what the universe said, you were my soulmate. I love you.” He took a shaky breath. 

“And on your birthday, in your room, when you told me you loved me, I meant to say it. I meant to say it. I was so scared of what the marks on your skin meant but that didn’t mean that I didn’t love you. I've kicked myself every day since then because I didn't say it. Because I do. I love you.” Ricky balled his hands into fists to keep them from shaking.

“I've loved you since seventh grade when I made you ride in the front row of Demon's Destiny at Six Flags, and you told me you sometimes get a little seasick on roller coasters, and I said, _Come on, live a little._ "

“I remember,” Nini murmured.

Ricky laughed breathlessly. “Yeah. And then I puked all over your shoes and

you didn't even make me feel bad about it. No. You just said-”

“ _No worries_ ,” Nini remembered. “ _I've been wanting to get rid of these shoes for a while._ ”

Ricky’s smile grew. “Yeah, because you outgrew them. The thing is,” he shook his head. “I never outgrew you. I've loved you since before I knew the meaning of the word. And I don't really know what happens tomorrow, or in two minutes when we walk out that door. All I know is: I don’t care whose ink is on your skin or if someday someone else's is on mine. I don’t care. I want you. I choose you. I’m not ready for this to be over. I’m not ready for us to be over.” He shook his head fondly. “And if that means doing another musical, then fine.”

“I get to pick the musical,” Nini said, her voice slightly choked up and her eyes damp.

Ricky laughed. “Fine. That's fine. It's all fine.” He sobered, but his smile didn’t fall. “I just don’t want this to be just a showmance. I want it to be real. I want to be the guy you deserved on your sixteenth birthday when I fucked up the best thing that ever happened to me. I want a chance to prove to you that I can be that guy.”

“Ricky?” Nini asked suddenly. “You know in musicals when people burst into song when they've run out of things to say?”

“Yeah?”

“Sometimes it's easier to just kiss.”

And they did. Ricky pulled away for a moment to just look at her and bask in how absolutely lucky he was before kissing her again.

Nini pulled away after a minute. “Hey, wait,” she said. She reached into her bag and pulled out a small box.

“What's this?” Ricky asked, having a hard time talking through his smile.

Nini rolled her eyes. “Open it.”

Ricky opened the box and saw an engraved dog tag on a chain. “To Freaky Callback Boy,” he read. 

“This is nice,” he said, slipping the chain over his head. “I am a guy who wears necklaces now, apparently.” He laughed and reached for his own pocket, pulling out the box he’d put her gift in. “And I also feel less stupid for doing this.”

Nini smiled as she read the engraved guitar pick he’d gotten her. “To Freaky Math Girl. Of course.”

“There's a song, too,” Ricky admitted. “And this.” He pulled out a pen from his pocket. It was a pen designed to write on skin. “I was going to give it to you for your birthday, but I-”

“I know,” Nini said, cutting him off and keeping him from having to explain again. She took the pen. “Will you be mad if I don’t use it?”

Ricky shrugged. “Just try it the once,” he suggested. “For tradition.” Nini pulled off the cap with her teeth and drew a heart on the back of her hand. Ricky huffed a laugh and rolled his eyes as he dramatically looked at the back of his own hand, smiling at what he knew would be blank skin. 

Ricky froze. His jaw dropped open and his eyes went wide. “What the fuck,” he whispered.

“What?” Nini asked, her smile frozen on her face. Wordlessly, Ricky turned his hand around to show Nini the heart on the back of it. 

“I didn’t draw that,” Ricky said breathlessly.

Nini lifted up her hand so that the two hearts were next to each other and slowly drew a line on the back of Ricky’s hand. It faded into view on hers.

“You were wearing a shirt,” Nini muttered. “On my birthday. Maybe you just didn’t notice the ink.”

Ricky threw his head back and laughed. “I ran away from you, the best person in my life, because we didn’t think to check that my shoulder wasn’t stained too.”

“Kiss me again,” Nini blurted out. Ricky lunged forward and clutched her face as he heard her pen clatter to the floor and kissed her like his life depended on it.

“Knock, knock.” Ricky and Nini turned to see Kourtney grinning at them in the doorway. She turned to Nini. “Nini, your moms are asking for you, and I think your grandma wants pictures.”

“Got it,” Nini replied. She turned back to Ricky. “I should probably…” she gestured towards the door. 

“Yeah,” Ricky said, distracted by her face.

“One more.”

~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i don't have an update schedule, but I do have the first 5 chapters written so hopefully that's enough of a buffer to let me post somewhat regularly  
> next chapter we move past rewriting canon and into uncharted territory!  
> if you have any predictions/suggestions/requests you want to leave in the comments, i'd love to see them! fair warning: I might not respond if responding would be giving spoilers!


	3. second chance, gotta grab it and go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the musical is over  
> unfortunately, that means it's time to actually process revelations and emotions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was reminded last chapter that 'poly' is used to refer to Polynesian people. In the tags, I made a joke based on the fact that I made a typo and wrote a common(but not correct) abbreviation of polyamory and didn't want to retype a long tag. I'm adding a correction in the notes of the first chapter.
> 
> Story-related notes!  
> We're moving into non-canon territory so there will be fewer time skips between scenes. However, there will be more places where the same situation is told by different characters. (ie. a scene is told from one perspective and when the next perspective is introduced, the scene jumps back a few minutes) I think the POV switches and scene retellings are clear, but let me know if any are confusing.  
> I'm referring to the room where they kept the costumes, put on makeup, and where Gina showed up at intermission as the green room. For non-theater people: the green room is a room where actors can hang out before or after the show or during intermission. In a high school setting, it would probably be combined with where the costumes are kept and double as a group dressing room(at least it did at my school). At my school, we had a girls dressing room and a boys dressing room. If you wanted more privacy, the bathrooms were pretty big. If you were cool with no privacy or were just doing hair/makeup and needed more space, you went to the green room. We also had bonding and pre-show activities in the green room.
> 
> Kudos and comments fuel me to keep writing!

  
EJ POV

For everything that went wrong, the musical was… good. EJ didn’t think he’d ever thoroughly enjoyed a performance that hadn’t been nearly flawless before and even then, he kicked himself for the fact that it wasn’t actually flawless. 

He sat in the green room and looked over the mess of makeup and costumes. They’d come back to strike later, but for now, the room existed in the timeless void that was a show.

“EJ,” called a voice from the door. “You joining us? We’re heading to Denny’s and then my house. A few people are planning to stay the night.”

EJ lifted a hand and waved Ashlynn off. “I’ll catch up. Text me when you leave Denny’s if I’m not there yet and I’ll meet you at your house.” Ashlynn didn’t respond. “Ash?” EJ turned around. “What’s up?”

“What’s on your hand?” Ashlynn asked quietly. EJ looked down at his hand as Ashlynn made her way over. There was a small heart that looked like it was underlined.

“I thought you weren’t going to use your soulmate bond,” Ashlynn said, grabbing his hand roughly and looking it over. 

“I’m not,” EJ hissed. “That wasn’t me. I didn’t even know it was there.”

“EJ,” Ashlynn scolded, pushing up his sleeve and flipping his hand around to examine his arm. “That looks like someone testing a bond! Did you talk to Ricky?”

“Not about this!” EJ yelped and yanked his hand back. He jerked his sleeve back down over his wrist. “I definitely didn’t talk to him about this! Last I saw, it looked like he and Nini were going to get back together!”

“You have to talk to him,” Ashlynn said, leaving no room for discussion.

“Absolutely not,” EJ snapped. “I don’t have a soulmate, Ash!”

“Sorry.” Big Red leaned in the door. “Didn’t mean to interrupt, I was just looking for Ashlynn.”

EJ dropped his face into his palms. “How much of that did you hear?”

“You should talk to Ricky and you don’t have a soulmate,” Big Red replied quickly. “I don’t have to read into that if you don’t want me to.”

“Soulmates suck,” EJ groaned. “Why can’t we just be happy? Why should happy people break up because their skin doesn’t share ink? Why should people force themselves to be with people they don’t love because someone decided before they were born that they were supposed to be perfect together?”

“Yeah, man,” Big Red agreed. “My parents aren’t soulmates and they’re one of the sappiest couples I know. On the other hand, my uncles are soulmates and they definitely rival my parents for sappiest couple. Family gatherings are fun.”  EJ dropped his hands and sat up to look at Big Red. 

EJ blinked at him in confusion. “I’ve never had someone agree with me about soulmates before.”

“Huh,” Big Red mused. “Maybe you _should_ talk to Ricky, then. He used to be totally on the soulmate train because of his parents, but they’re divorcing so he’s having a bit of a ‘come to Jesus’ moment.”

“I’m not talking to Ricky fucking Bowen about soulmates,” EJ snarled. 

“Okay,” Big Red replied with a shrug. “Wanna talk to my parents? They’re insisting on driving me to Denny’s if I’m planning on spending the night at Ashlynn’s with everyone else because they want to congratulate me, but they’re always down for teaching kids to fuck the system.”

“Yeah,” EJ said, surprising himself. “I would like that.”

“Cool,” Big Red chirped. “I’ll meet you out front.”

Ashlynn cleared her throat. “Weren’t you driving me to Denny’s?” she asked pointedly.

“Was  _ that _ why you didn’t want to leave without me?” EJ asked. “I knew I was forgetting something.” He tossed her his keys. “Here. Don’t wreck my car.”

Ashlynn stared at him. “EJ, are you okay? You’ve never let me drive your car without you there to backseat drive.”

“I’m fine!” EJ insisted. “I’ll meet you at Denny’s!”

~

EJ felt suddenly out of place and a bit like a little kid as he met Big Red and his parents outside of the school and followed them to their car.

“I’m EJ,” he said abruptly. “Caswell.”

“Big Red’s mentioned,” Big Red’s mom said kindly. “Call me Amy, sweetheart.”

“I’m Papa Red to any friends of Big Red!” Big Red’s dad declared.

“Dad,” Big Red groaned. “Don’t be weird.” He looked at EJ. “Sorry about them, but you said yes when I asked.”

“Kiddo,” Amy asked, ruffling Big Red's hair. “Was there a reason you wanted EJ to get a ride with us or did he just need a ride?”

“Oh!” Big Red smacked his forehead. “EJ’s anti-soulmate.”

“Oh?” Big Red’s parents said in unison.

“Yeah?” EJ said a bit hesitantly. He rubbed at the back of his neck. “Some people’s share marks on their skin. It doesn’t mean they’re perfect for each other.”

“That’s what I always say!” Big Red’s dad thundered. “My soulmate is my best friend, but I could never imagine marrying her! I love my wife far too much for that!”

“I’m friends with my soulmate too,” Amy said. “We tried a romantic relationship, but it was so tense. She’s a better friend than she was a girlfriend and I think I am too. Some people are platonic soulmates and some people just don’t fit with their soulmates. Not every set of connected people are meant to stay in each other’s lives.”

“My parents are soulmates,” EJ admitted, running a hand through his hair. He scoffed. “They spend more time avoiding each other than they do anything else. They don’t usually show up to my shows or games because they’re worried the other might be there.”

“Do you want us to go to your water polo games?” Big Red blurted out. “Like, the drama kids. Because we totally would.”  EJ's head turned on a swivel to look at Big Red. He blinked blankly a few times before his lips twitched upwards and he shook his head. 

“I don’t really care anymore,” EJ said. “I used to, but I don’t anymore. It’s just to look good on college applications at this point.”

“We’re going to your next game,” Big Red decided. “You can text me your game schedule or I can get it from Ashlynn, but then I’ll have to explain to her why I want it.”

“I’ll send it to you tomorrow, okay?” EJ said, feigning exasperation and rolling his eyes. He sighed and changed the subject. “I know who my soulmate is. He doesn’t, but he’s dating someone else and he’s happy. I’m not being an asshole by not telling him, right?”

“Does he care about soulmates?” Big Red’s dad asked. “Your boy.”

EJ shrugged. “I think he did, but not anymore.”

“Do you think he would want to know?” Amy asked.

“Maybe,” EJ admitted. “But I’m pretty sure he can’t hate me any more than he already does, so what does it matter.”

“Don’t tell him,” Big Red said quietly. “He’ll freak out. He’s confused about soulmates right now and he’ll think he’s obligated to date you even if neither of you want it. Because he doesn’t hate you. He doesn’t love you either, but he cares about you and Ricky’s way too self-sacrificial when it comes to people he cares about. He’ll make you both miserable.”

"Self-sacrificial?" EJ asked with raised eyebrows. "Ricky fucking Bowen?"

Big Red laughed. "I didn't say he did it well," he protested. "But that audition was supposed to show that he was willing to be vulnerable in front of a crowd and show an interest in what Nini cares about. Ended up embarrassing you and Nini more than him, but the thought was there."

EJ winced and nodded. "Which is why you think he'd try to date me if we were soulmates."

"If he knew you were soulmates," Big Red corrected.

EJ protested, “I didn’t say my soulmate was Ricky.”

“Right. It's totally not too late to backtrack now." Big Red rolled his eyes. "And Ricky just happened to have a bond mark on his lip right after he smacked you in the face with a basketball.”

“So he doesn’t know?” EJ asked, turning back to what Big Red had said before EJ had tried to deny that Ricky was his soulmate. 

“No,” Big Red confirmed. “He doesn’t. I suggest you keep it that way unless you want to actually be there for him. He’s had enough people who should have stuck with him leave him behind. Don’t be another one.”

“Okay.” EJ nodded, not making eye contact with anyone. 

“Honey,” Amy cut in. “You can tell him if you want to. It’s your bond too.”

“I don’t want to,” EJ stressed. He blew out a long breath. “I just don’t want to make things worse by not telling him.”

“You do what’s right for you,” Big Red’s dad said. “It’s your bond and your life. There’s nothing you’re ‘supposed to’ do with it.”

“Also, we’re here,” Amy added. “Are you good to head in, hon?”

“Yeah,” EJ said. “Thank you.” He hopped out of the car and headed towards Denny’s, catching Ashlynn’s eye and waving as he opened the door.

~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Does EJ ever call Ashlynn "Ash" in the show? I /i/feel/i/ like he does but I can't remember. Either way, he does here.  
> I've discovered through the wiki that I've been spelling Ashlynn's name wrong, but I've been doing it long enough that seeing it with one "n" looks weird to me. I feel like the captions for the show might have had it as Ashlynn? Because I watched the show with captions on.


End file.
